Aluminum, Alzheimer's disease and bone fragility.
The incidence of fragility fractures has increased epidemically. Especially patients with senile dementia (including Alzheimer's disease) have a greatly increased risk of fragility fractures. Aluminum inhibits bone mineralization; the greater the aluminium exposure, the higher the risk of an early fracture. Aluminium is neurotoxic and may, in addition to genetic factors, play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease by contributing to the formation of the characteristic beta-amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles. Thus, a common denominator between Alzheimer's disease and bone fragility may be a chronic low-grade aluminum intoxication. The epidemic of fragility fractures may be caused by increased aluminium exposure--due to the use of aluminum cooking pots or the pollution acidification of our environment. In our pilot study of 26 hip-fracture patients (13 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 13 individually age- and gender-matched non-demented patients), the aluminum content, determined mass-spectro-metrically, was higher in trabecular bone biopsies from the patients with Alzheimer's disease than from the non-demented patients (p = 0.005). The aluminum content was also higher in the younger of the 26 patients (p = 0.02). Our findings agree with the hypothesis that aluminum plays a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease and bone fragility.
Mjöberg
B
B
Department of orthopedics, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden.
Hellquist
E
E
Mallmin
H
H
Lindh
U
U
D000368:Aged; D000535:Aluminum / Q000032:analysis*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D015519:Bone Density; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D000535:Aluminum